Railway bed and tie



(No Model.)

B. SMITH. RAILWAY BED AND TIE.

No. 601,799. Patented Apr. 5, 1898.

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UNITED ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI SMITH, OF DRESSOR, ILLINOIS..

RAILWAY BED AND TIE.

SPEGIFIQATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,799, dated April 5,.1898.

. Application filed September 20,1897. Serial No. 652,378. (No model.)

ments in Railway Beds and Ties; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in railway beds and ties; and it consists, essentially, in forming. the road-bed of stringers arranged end to end and parallel with each other and suitably bracing them and covering the space between said stringers with metallic plates, thus providing means whereby the ties are kept thoroughly dry and prevented from decaying, and, further, my invention consists in arranging strips, preferably of metal, upon each side of the road-bed, whereby water will be carried from the roadbed and into the usualditches provided for its reception.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a tie and bed of the character mentioned that can be readily constructed and which will be simplein construction, durable, comparatively cheap, and which can be readily repaired.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description, and the points of novelty will be particularly set forth in the claim.

I am enabled to accomplishthe objects of my invention by the simple means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a road-bed constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same, taken at the point where the stringers are braced. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of one of the metallic strips provided for the purpose of draining the Water from the roadbed.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the stringers, which in the present instance are formed of wooden beams of such width and thickness as to insure the necessary strength and of convenient length to be handled. These beams in practice are arranged end to end and parallel with each other and properly spaced apart. I

Extending entirely across the road-bed I provide a series of metallic plates 2, with their edges slightly turned down, as indicated by the numeral 3, to more readily carry ofi the water. Said plates are perforated in straight parallel lines above the central portions of the stringers for the passage of the usual spikes or other fastening means by which the rails 4 and said plates are secured to the stringers.

The numeral 5 indicates the braces,formed, preferably, of metal, spanning the space between the stringers and preferably placed about midway of the length of said stringers, said braces being firmly secured to the stringers at either end and immediately below the joint of the plates. The numeral 6 indicates a metallic plate interposed between the said braces and the ends of the plates 2 where they come together, and said plates are firmly secured to the braces by bolts or spikes passing through the plates 2 near their edges and through the metallic plates 6 and intosaid braces, thus forming perfectly water-tight joints;

To insure the more perfect and even mounting of the rails upon the ties and stringers, the plates 6, wherethey extend across the upper faces of the stringers, are depressed, so that the upper faces of said plates will be flush with the upper faces of the stringers, thus providing a level bearing for the plates 2 and the rails mounted thereon, or said plates may be of very thin metal and rest upon the tops of the braces.

Arranged on either side of the road-bed and secured to the upper outer edges of the stringers I provide metallic strips 7, bent at, say, aboutan angle of forty-five degrees with relation to the stringers, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The strips 7 are perforatedby the passage of spikes or bolts, which pass through the plates 2 and serve to secure said plates and strips and also the rails to the ties. The said strips are so thin that they do not interfere with the even mounting of the rails, and if found desirable said strips may extend entirely across the faces of the stringers.

Beneath the stringers, at the ends thereof, I provide transverse beams 9, upon which said stringers are adapted to rest and are prevented from sinking.

In practice it will be found that the stringers and the spaces between the same will be completely protected from water, as the water passing from the plates 2 willv be carried to the sides of the road-bed and there emptied into ditches provided for the purpose.

It is obvious that many changes in the details of construction may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and I therefore do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the precise construction shown in the drawings.

It will be understood that in practice the space between the stringers and the spaces between the outer edges of the stringers and the metallic strips will be filled in with crushed rock or other material used in the construction of road-beds.

. Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A road-bed and ties comprising a series of stringers arranged end to end and parallel with each other, metallic plates connecting the said stringers and extending entirely across the upper faces thereof, said plates being formed withv perforations for the passage of spikes or bolts, wherebythe plates and the track-rails are secured to the stringers, metallic plates secured to the upperouter edges of the stringers for the purpose set forth, and metallic strips secured to the faces of the braces between the stringers and extending to the metallic side strips, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELI SMITH.

Witnesses:

F. DIDWERY, PLEN NELRUS. 

